3rd Major Writing Assignment - Research Proposal - Subject

The main overall topic I will be doing my project on is going to be Paintball. The 3 specific areas that are possible areas I will be focusing are...

1) Why competitive/ tournament style paintball is not apart of the Olympics and how I can change that.
2) The negative view that society has on paintball, why society has that view, and how I am going to change their view.
3) How I can get paintball viewed as an actual competitive sport and not as a hobby.

Body In Trouble, By Nancy Maris

Nancy's essay begins with her telling us about how in biblical times people with mental or physical disorders were considered to be either extremely sinful or possessed by demons. Nancy is trying to tell us about how living with a disability has and always will be difficult. Nancy tries to play with our emotions by telling the audience about what she has had to go through in her life because of her disabilities. While trying to make us feel bad for her and that fact that she has a disability she also wants us to know that she has a very strong character and that she does not need someone to hold her hand in every aspect of life.

How to Tame a Wild Toungue, By Gloria Anzaluda

This "essay" is essentially a short story of the history of the Spanish language the sub-languages that have evolved from the mixing of English and Spanish over time. It is also a look into the life of Gloria and how English and how "American teaching" changed her understanding of language. Gloria takes us on a journey through her life where she had to deal with discrimination because of the language she was brought up with and she also uses examples from history to explain the evolution of language and sub-languages. She describes how certain sub-language are considered by proper speaking people to be "unintelligent." She also tells us how people that speak the language dialect that may be uncommon to most can connect easily and understand each other better. One of the things in her essay that really excites her is when books or movies are released that use an uncommon dialect or vocabulary. When these things are published it helps shine the spotlight on the language.

If Black Is Not A Language Then Tell Me What Is, By James Baldwin

In James Baldwin's essay, "If Black Is Not  A Language Then Tell Me What Is," he express his feelings and opinions on the subject of "speaking black." He tells us about how a language evolves from people so that they can control the circumstances that they live in. He tells us that "Black English" is a creation of black diaspora. Another key thing he talks about is how in many circumstances just speaking to another person in public can give away your entire back ground, such as your amount off wealth, your race, your social setting ect.. His main point in this essay is to tell us that whites have never cared about the education of blacks. He wants people to realize that just because someone talks a different way or has a certain accent that does not make then any less or more intelligent or affluent. This whole essay is kind of a rant from James about how he feels about racism and how blacks are treated.

Prison Studies: Logos, Pathos, Ethos

Malcom X's thesis for "Prison Studies" is that self teaching can offer a motivated person just as much education as going to a fancy college. His reason behind this is that when going to college you have many distractions besides schooling, but if you are a in prison self educating yourself like he was then you will have no distractions to your studies.

Malcom uses logos through the fact that he became a highly educated individual through self teaching in prison. He was able to teach himself to read and write at a higher level just by reading a copying pages out of a dictionary. Malcom didn't even have an education past an 8th grade level but taught himself enough to become a prestigious author.

Malcom uses pathos through the scene in Prison Studies where the guard comes around ever 60 minutes and he has to quickly run to his bed and act like he is sleeping. As soon as the guard passes he gets out of bed and then continues to read his books into late hours of the night.

Ethos is shown in Prison Studies through the fact that it is written by Malcom X and the story is based around the life of Malcom X in prison. Malcom was a "religious activist and civil rights leader as well as a prominent figure in the African-American Muslim community."